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Okay folks. Sorry about this one. But November was a complete wash when it comes to this farm journal. Abenaqui Alpacas was inundated with family and friends for hunting season. I had little time to write let alone think to grab my camera to document the farms events.
The cria are growing. The leaves are gone. We ushered in the first of the month by hosting a Harvest Party for our family and friends. Farmer Steve and I chose the smallest of the five piggies to cook for the event. We butchered the pig and pit roasted it here on the farm. The smallest of the piggies dressed out at 140 pounds.
Our dear friend Adam came the day before the roast and helped to build thepit fire and set up. On November 1st approximately 30 of our friends and family descended upon the farm to partake of the roasted pig. Apparently when you tell people you are going to bury a pig and dig it up 14 hours later and eat it, they all want to come. We made the event a potluck. The food was plentiful and the homebrew was overflowing. All had a fantastic time. Unfortunately Farmer Steve and I were so busy the entire day, we did not take a single picture. I hope to get some from friends and family so I can add those pictures maybe later.
This pig roast marked the beginning of hunting season here in Maine. Annually at this time we open our home and farm up to friends from out of state for the month so they can all work together, with Farmer Steve to hunt and put meat in their freezers. We had visitors here for much of the month. They all bring food and help out on the farm in addition to their long days in the woods tracking their prey. Fortunately Farmer Steve was successful and put approximately 100 pounds of venison into the freezer by the time the season was over.
On November 8th, the rest of the piggies were taken to market. Farmer Steve and I had little trouble brining them to Rochester for butchering. A week after the pigs are dropped off, I go pick up all the non-smoked meats. The people that co-op the pigs with us come up to the farm and help to separate and package all the meat. We separated out and foodsavered 85 pounds of pork for each person. We knew we would have about 75 more pounds per person of smoked meats coming the following week. Farmer Steve and I began our search for another freezer. Luckily, through Craig's List we were able to find a very affordable used upright freezer. We were so amazed at what we found, it was a steal. The following week we picked up the additonal smoked and cured pork. This offered another 75 pounds of meat per family. We all share the cost of feed and butchering of all the pork. This year each family paid approximately $2.80 per pound of pork, regardless of cut. That is a fantastic price for free range, grass fed, farm raised organic pork! What a deal. Again, we spent an evening, approximately 3 hours, food savering (vaccuum sealing) and separating out the smoked cuts of pig.
Thanksgiving has come and gone now. Looking back at the month we did not have much time to work the farm during the month. Farmer Steve and I, between venison and pork butchering, entertaining guests and family, only spent a few days actually working the farm. I winterized the boys barn. We cleaned up and stowed away the pig pen, wrapped up hoses and stowed them in the basement, raked a little, and collected buckets and buckets of rocks from the new pasture.
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